Chord Of Hope EXCEED
by Heinell no Miko
Summary: WARNING: Extensive use of anime tropes in this fic. What started out as a chance encounter at an ordinary summer excursion for the K-On girls turned out to be the start of the biggest adventure of their lives.
1. Start of our Days

**Okay, this is my first attempt at a K-On fanfic. I have watched the 2 seasons of the anime but not the manga, so if there's any inconsistencies with the characters, please tell me. I would ask the same for the Tintin characters; I may have watched the cartoons, read all the comics and even watched the Spielberg/Jackson movie, but I'm not entirely sure my memories of the characters would serve me well.**

**Special thanks to Kissy Fishy for beta-reading this chapter.**

**K-On characters: © Kakifly/Sakuragaoka**

**The Adventures of Tintin characters: © Moulinsart/Herge Studios**

**Story is for fan expression only, not for publication or for sale.**

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><p>The spirit of summer made its presence felt as it set loose the oppressive heat of the sun's rays, threatening to dry up anyone who dared to challenge them. Fortunately, the generous width of the trees in this forest was more than enough to shelter anyone from most of the rays' ill effects, but it could only do much. Despite this, the intrepid group of young campers, armed with their camping luggage and their summer clothes, valiantly marched on; unmindful of the heat or the UV rays. After all, they had much to celebrate.<p>

"Isn't it great? Now that Azu-nyan has passed the entrance exam, she can finally be reunited with the Hokago Tea Time Club! We're a complete team once again! Right, Azu-nyan?" said the girl with the short, brown hair as she playfully sidled up to the girl with the double-ponytail-ed black hair.

Apparently not pleased with the outward display of affection, the black-haired girl groaned and said, "Yui-sempai, you haven't changed since the last time I saw you. And stop calling me Azu-nyan! We're in college right now. At least have some dignity and stop calling me goo-goo names!"

"Really now?" said Yui, still not taking her arm off her friend. "If you want me to stop calling you Azu-nyan, then you should stop addressing me as 'sempai'!"

"You know that I can't do that, right? College is still a school setting, and I still have to address you as 'sempai'. So much for thinking of a clever deal."

"Oops, I forgot. You got me there!" exclaimed Yui, scratching her head and laughing.

Their three other companions laughed as well. "Yui sure hasn't changed," said Tsumugi, the girl with the long, blond hair and thick, sliced-radish shaped eyebrows. "And neither have you, Azusa. But I'm glad that you're now in the same university as we are. Now you can _really_ join us full time! I just wished that we made this celebration trip a lot earlier, when our villa's not being renovated."

"Nah, it's okay, Mugi-chan," said Ritsu, the girl with the short, bleached blond hair. "A fancy villa like yours would have defeated the purpose of roughing it out in the woods. Besides, we don't have much of a choice. Our schedules are pretty packed."

"Just think about it, though," said Mio, the girl with the long, black hair and the chopped bangs; her slanted eyes gaining a thoughtful expression, "We're a full-time recording artist band, AND full-time college students. We may not be in the league of the big shots now, but that's exactly why we can still afford to have excursions like this. So let's make the most out of the limited time we have here."

"Oh Mio-chan, playing the 'old-timer' part, as always," said Ritsu. Wearing a mischievous smirk, she inched closer to Mio, waving in the air with creeping motions and talking in a mock creepy voice, said, "Yes, we'll make the most out of this summer trip by doing the 100 ghost stories this night!"

"Ritsu! Stop it!" cried Mio, wearing her trademark helpless, frightened look. "No ghost stories!"

"But a summer vacation trip is not complete without one! Don't tell me that a college student like you is still scared of them?"

"Of course not! Now stop wearing that creepy expression! It's unbecoming of a college student too, you know!"

Their other companions laughed. This group of friends had taken pride, joy and comfort in the fact that they may be college students now, but they still remained exactly the way they used to be. They had known each other since they were a humble music club in their school, but they may not be as humble in this day, as they were on this excursion on the behest of a production company that took them in and turned them into a full-fledged band. But as always, they never let all this get into their head and like they always do, concentrate on making the most out of living in the present.

"Hey! I'm gonna race you guys to the lodge!" shouted Yui as she ran ahead down the trail.

"Yui-sempai!" cried Azusa, running after her senior as she struggled with her camp luggage. "Are you sure that's the right way? Get back here!"

"Yui-chan is still as childish as ever," sighed Ritsu, "but let's race with them anyway!"

"Wait!" cried Mio, "Are you sure this is a good idea?" We might get lost! And the sun! We might get dehydrated with all this running…" She broke off when she saw that her other companions had gone along with Yui's "race".

Sighing from the fact that she couldn't win against Yui's childish mindset, she gradually let a smile take over her face when she realized that this was exactly what their friendship was all about. And that was something that she hoped would not change. Holding this thought in mind, she secured her own camping bag and ran after her friends.

_I hope that we __can__ stay like this for a long time_, thought Mio, as her heart flew like her long, black locks in the wind.

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><p>Not far from where the girls are, a pair of campers was walking together, guided by a smartphone's trusty GPS system. As the two men were walking along the trail, a small, white wire fox terrier was incessantly weaving through them and sniffing about, taking all the sights and smells of the unfamiliar terrain.<p>

"Stay close to me, Snowy," said the younger of the two men. Apparently, he was the dog's master, as the dog promptly trotted back to his side, wearing an eager, bright-eyed and panting expression.

"You really are enjoying yourself, aren't you?" the dog's young master said, with a fond expression in his deep blue eyes. As the dog yipped a "yes", its master looked back to his handheld device, studying the terrain and their direction; unmindful of the stiff breeze that blew through his upswept quiff. "We're almost there," the red-headed young man told his older companion, "that lodge's not far from here, Captain."

"And about time," the older man harrumphed, as he surveyed the whole terrain as well, wearing a thoughtful yet suspicious expression as he stroked his full beard. "But I still don't fancy those newfangled 21st century contraptions. They're better off with young whippersnappers like you."

"Oh c'mon now, Captain," said the young man, as he slid his index finger on the phone's touch screen. "It's not that hard to learn how to use these things. Besides…we have to adapt to this era, even if it isn't ours."

The two men fell silent for a while, feeling the significance of that last statement. Even Snowy, the little terrier, felt the weight of what his master had just said, and that made him glance up to the two humans beside him. The bearded, older man broke the silence as he asked, "Are you having any regrets, Tintin?"

"No, Captain. Getting into this kind of mess is part of being a reporter. At least…that's what I used to be back then." As he said this, Tintin's eyes became more serious and meditative. "I have to admit though; I may have been overzealous on that fateful day, forty-five years ago. I've stumbled on something that I shouldn't have. That's why…oh, never mind. No use regretting it; it's not as if we can turn back time and return things to the way they used to be. What's important now is for us to accomplish this mission."

"The day's main objective's the only thing in your mind, just as always." Casting a worried look at his lifelong friend and partner, Captain Archibald Haddock mulled over their situation, and how it was affecting Tintin. They may have endured several trials and tribulations together, all of which had one way or another turned into a grand adventure, and gained them several friends and enemies along the way. But none of them had actually turned out to be like this situation that they were in right now: they have been dragged into this time frame that they both knew they didn't belong to, and forced to work with people that they'd rather not have anything to do with, all for the sake of saving a dear friend. Of course, he's a veteran of the high seas that had endured times that are both physically and emotionally draining. His young friend may have endured life's physical trials and have prevailed over them splendidly, as it was demonstrated several times over; but there was no telling whether or not Tintin was only using his focus as a way to block off any thought that might send him spiraling into sadness and regret. "Say Tintin," he said, "I just thought…"

"Captain, look out behind you!" Tintin shouted, as he pointed to a highly-inclined trail that intersects the road that was right behind his friend. But it was too late, as the screaming girl who has lost her footing due to the sharp incline and stumbled off the trail, had flown off and directly collided with the Captain; as both of them slammed on the road in a tangled heap of limbs, and their bags landing beside them.

"Captain! Are you all right?" shouted Tintin. Sliding back the phone into his luggage's gadgets compartment, he and Snowy rushed to their friend's side.

"Ten thousand thundering typhoons," the Captain muttered, as he slowly sat up and looked around. "Who sent that free-flying flotsam?"

"It's not a flotsam; it's a girl," replied Tintin. Seeing that his friend was more or less all right, he turned to the other fallen person. "Uh, are you all right? Oh…" stalling when he remembered that he was in Japan, he repeated his question in Japanese, as the still disoriented girl slowly stood up, collecting herself and her luggage.

"Yui-chan!" a group of voices shouted out. Looking towards the direction from which the voices came from, Tintin saw a group of girls running towards them. "They must be her friends," he said, as he backed off to give space to them.

The group of friends surrounded their fallen comrade. "I told you not to run in that direction, Yui-sempai!" Azusa said as she tried to catch her breath, "Look at what happened to you!"

"Easy now, Azu-nyan" said Ritsu, "it's not that becoming of a kohai (under-classman) to scold her sempai (upper-classman) like that."

Still groggy from the impact of her fall, Yui looked around and mumbled incoherently before screaming out in surprise.

"What is it, Yui-chan?"

With a shaky hand, Yui pointed at the two men that she encountered and stammered in a gasping voice, "Fo….fo…fo…fo…reig…ners!"

Her other friends looked at them and was taken aback as well. The two men were obviously Caucasian, and as the girls judged from the men's puzzled stares, seemed to not understand what they were saying.

"Hey, Mugi…"said Ritsu, as she laid a hand on Tsumugi's shoulder, "Since you're the one who speaks English, how about you talk to them?"

"Uh…okay" said Tsumugi, "but what will I tell them?"

"STOOOOOOP!" Yui yelled in forced English before saying in normal Japanese, "It's my fault, so I'll apologize! Please don't interfere!"

As the girls were yapping amongst themselves; Tintin, Captain Haddock and Snowy exchanged puzzled stares. "What are these girls blabbering about?"

"I don't know, Captain."

"Okay, I'll talk to them!" Saying this amid her friends' objections, Yui nervously faced the two men and stammered in her broken English, "Haro…mai neemu…izu….Hirasawa Yui….Ai fuoru…obaa….rokku…" As Yui went on, her words became more and more incomprehensible and nonsensical; and this couldn't be more obvious than from the face-palming consternation of her friends and the increasingly awkward expression of the two men and the dog before her. And as always, it didn't take long before the Captain got annoyed and yelled, "Just stop the bilge-water balderdash, you cretins!"

With screams, the girls ran off the trail and into the forest.

"Look at what you've done, Captain!" said Tintin with a look of disapproval on his face. "You scared them off!"

"Bah, they could've just talked to us in their language if they wanted to. Are they making fun of us?"

"Really now, Captain! How are they supposed to know that we can speak Japanese?" But before Tintin could say anything more; a long, piercing scream broke the landscape. "Did you hear that, Captain?"

"Well, yes…"

"It came from that direction. That's where those girls ran off to!" An alarmed look went over the red-headed young man's face as he said, "Something must've happened to them! C'mon!"

As the two men ran into the forest towards the direction of the screams, with their bags in tow and Snowy the dog behind them, they saw the trees clearing out and soon enough, a clearing appeared behind the last wall of trees, and not far from it was a sharp ravine. Seeing this and realizing just what could be happening, Tintin ran along the rock-lined cliff side and when he got to a sharp bend, he stopped and wore an appalled expression, as his worst fears were confirmed. "Great snakes!"

At the edge of the bend that leads to the ravine, four of the girls were panicking and desperately reaching out to their friend who has lost her footing on the rocks and was desperately holding on to the lone branch sticking out from the face of the cliff.

"Azu-nyan!" "Azusa!" "Don't let go!"

The four girls were struggling to find any means to get their friend out as they rummaged through their luggage and searched the surroundings for anything that they could use. But it was to no avail; Azusa was far too low for them to hold on to and pull up, and they haven't brought any rope with them.

Wasting no time, Tintin searched through his own bag and found a generous roll of mountain-climbing rope, but he knew that there was not enough time to secure it to a tree and slide down the cliff's face to get the girl. As he searched the terrain to find a way to accomplish his objective, his human and non-human sidekicks had caught up with him, and were just as appalled with the situation as he is.

"Blistering barnacles!" exclaimed the Captain, "Why are you just standing there? Go and help them! Tie that rope to a tree or something!"

"There's no time, Captain!"

"What do you mean, there's no time?"

But the young man knew that arguing was the last thing that he should be doing, so he fell silent as he studied the surroundings while securing one end of the rope around his body. Soon enough, he espied a half-arch rock formation towering above him and the girls. _How convenient_, he thought, as he tied a rock he found earlier on the other end of the rope. Aiming carefully, he swung the rock before throwing it at the half-arch formation, and the rope quickly wrapped itself around the structure. Tugging at the rope, he felt that the formation was strong enough to support them, but even if he did manage to catch the girl, he has to consider the danger of flying straight into the cliff's face and getting smashed like a pulpy watermelon against the jagged rocks. He has to make a calculation that is both quick and precise.

But time was not on their side, as the flimsy branch that was Azusa's only lifeline had started cracking from her weight. As her friends screamed, panicked and started crying, Azusa started crying herself as well, as she screamed,

"**I DON'T WANT TO DIE!"**

There was something in the girl's scream that stirred something in Tintin; a deep-seated layer of strong and painful memories buried deep within his subconscious that he had long struggled to suppress throughout his existence. But those memories had triggered something within him and switched his mental faculties to high gear.

The following events were fast. As the branch finally snapped and Azusa plunged to her apparent demise with the screams of her friends and her own, Tintin had abandoned all hesitation and swung over the ravine, and in a series of calculated moves, caught the girl in his arms and with his feet and legs, kicked on and maneuvered his way off the cliff face's rocks. Finally, he spotted a ledge that was just directly beneath where their other companions were, and he maneuvered his last kick on the cliff face to get them there.

As he landed on the ledge, he checked to see whether or not the girl that he had just rescued was still alive. She was lying still, dazed and motionless in his arms, apparently stunned by her brush with death; but otherwise was alive and unhurt.

"Hey Tintin! Are you still alive?" the Captain called from above, as Snowy the dog barked the same sentiments at his master. "Did you get the girl?"

"Yes, we're both alive down here!" Tintin yelled back. "Can you hold the rope from up there?"

"I'm holding it now and I'm hauling you both in!"

As the Captain pulled the rope, the other girls watched as he dragged the two youngsters up the face of the cliff and to the safety of the ground up above. When they finally got on the ground and made a safe distance from the cliff, the girls ran towards their friend, tearful from the fact that they had almost lost her. Gently, Tintin helped Azusa get back on her feet, as the girl's friends called out to her. Upon hearing their voices, it finally dawned on her that she'd been saved and was still alive. And the sheer fact that she was just a hair's breadth away from her demise was more than enough to make her break down and cry.

"There, there, Azu-nyan," said the girls, as they gathered round and comforted Azusa.

The two men fell silent, knowing all too well that they were actually responsible for putting her in danger. In fact, they might as well have _killed_ her. With this in mind, they were both at a loss for words, and they were even more at a loss when the girls finally faced them. The girls were no different, as they were just as tongue-tied, but from the fact that these two foreigners have just saved the life of one of their own, and their current grasp on the English language may not be enough to properly thank them. An awkward silence fell over the two parties for a few moments before the near-sentient dog Snowy exasperatedly grunted his impatience over the silence and prompted his master to speak up at last.

"I'm sorry…" Tintin slowly said in fluent Japanese, which made the girls gasp in surprise and consternation. "All of this is our fault. This wouldn't have happened if not for our carelessness. I'm just glad that no one's hurt, but still….I'm really sorry!"

"Oh no, no! Please don't be!" Tsumugi spoke back in her native tongue. "In fact, we're the ones who should apologize to you from earlier. We could've simply asked you if you spoke Japanese and act like that. It was very rude of us!"

"Don't just stand there, Yui!" said Ritsu, as she pushed the aforementioned forward. "Say something! This mess is partly your fault too, you know!"

"B-b-but do I have to?" Yui nervously stammered.

"No. This is entirely my fault."

Silenced by the serious, grave tone in that statement, everybody turned to Captain Haddock, who said those words with a defeated, repentant, but still dignified expression. "It's extremely unbecoming of me to just lash out at a bunch of helpless young girls like that. And you were even put in danger and one of you almost got killed; all because an old man just can't keep his temper in check. I don't know how I'll be able to live with that thought while keeping a straight face."

Once again, silence had dominated in those moments, as everybody was unsure about what they're supposed to do next, given everything that just happened. The girls looked uneasily at each other, as if they were asking one another wordlessly about what they should do. Finally, Tsumugi, who was acting as the group's unofficial spokesperson, had an idea.

"Since Kichioji Lodge is the only campsite around this area, I'd assume that's where you sirs are going, right?

"Well, yes," replied Tintin, "that's where we're going to. And you'll be going there as well, am I right?"

Tsumugi replied in the affirmative. "I just thought, since it's about to get dark and we've already seen how potentially dangerous the area that's beyond the trails and roads could be….."

"Can you two gentlemen be kind enough to go together with us?"


	2. The First Long Night

Silence fell over this group of campers as they trudged on towards their shared destination. Their uneasiness over each other's presence was felt by the little white terrier, which was staring at them and once again, wore that exasperated look. _Sheesh, can't they just get straight to the damn point?_

Sensing the impending draft of awkwardness that loomed over them, Tsumugi decided to bring it upon herself to break the ice. "Since we still have a long way to go, we might as well talk about our plans, right guys?"

"Uh, yeah, I guess," Mio said uneasily, as a passing breeze blew her and Tsumugi's long hair. "But we don't have that much to do, right? Aside from the usual trekking, fishing and barbecue, that is."

"Speaking of which," said Ritsu, "Hey, Yui-chan! Have you brought the charcoal? We need it, since the lodge doesn't provide us with charcoal for the barbecue pits."

"Don't worry!" Yui chirped in her usual lively manner. "They're all here in my bag!"

"Are you sure that's what we need, sempai?" asked Azusa, as she wore a sceptical look.

"Of course!" Yui replied in an affirmative tone, but was abruptly replaced by an uncertain expression, as she said, "At least, I think so."

"That's what I'm afraid of," the four other girls interjected.

"Well, at least not having the right charcoal is far less bad than her lugging Giita all the way here in the wilderness of Southern Japan," Ritsu remarked, "Boy, am I glad I convinced her not to."

"But I HAVE to spend more time with Giita!" Yui grumbled. "After all, we won't go far as a band without him!"

"Um, excuse me," Tintin finally spoke up after his long silence, "but who's Giita?"

"Oh, that's the name that Yui here gave her guitar," Tsumugi explained, "It's a bit hard to explain, though."

"Yeah, like, she's treating that guitar like a person or a pet. It's a borderline fetish!" Ritsu spoke up.

"Stop making Yui look bad in front of strangers!" Mio yelled indignantly as she gave Ritsu her trademark hand chop.

"OW! But that's the truth!"

"You're all so mean," Yui pouted, but she, along with the other girls, changed into a surprised expression when they saw the young man gave out a polite, yet heartfelt laugh.

"I'm sorry," he said, as he tried to control his laughter, "It's just that...that you're very interesting to watch. I don't mean any offence, ladies."

There was something in Tintin's eyes that that made Captain Haddock do a double take and make a quick, thoughtful glance at him. But he remained silent and wordlessly walked on.

"Oh no, don't worry," Tsumugi assured him, "I'm glad that you don't find us bothersome to be with."

"Oh no, not at all. By the way, I heard you mention that you ladies are in a band or something."

"Well yes, kind of," said Tsumugi, "but we're just starting out, professionally speaking. A talent agency had just taken us in, and we're just learning the ropes in how we should go around in the recording artists business. But they're kind enough to send us on a camping trip like this and even set us up for a free week-long stay!"

"Sounds interesting," Tintin remarked, "I'd like to hear you play, if we get the chance."

"Why thank you! I do hope that we get that chance, though," said Tsumugi, "Oh, here we are!"

As they arrived at the lodge, the girls marvelled at the sight of Kichioji Lodge, its cabins neatly arranged and homey-looking. It may not have been as grand as the villas that were owned by Tsumugi's family, but they were more than inviting enough to make anyone feel comfortable. The group headed straight to the central pavilion where the registry was, and as they walked in, the girls took in the sight of the gentle ambience that exuded from the lights that bounced off the tasteful decors that made up the interior of the central office.

"Souichi sure has good taste," Ritsu remarked. "He may suck at getting us gigs, but he more than makes up for it with this."

"Show some consideration and respect for our manager," Mio scolded her. "You can't deny that he's working just as hard, perhaps even more than us, just to get us through the industry."

"Whatever, old lady," Ritsu grumbled.

"Oh, by the way," Tsumugi said to the two men, "this might be where we'll part ways for tonight. I do hope we get to see you tomorrow, Mr. Tintin?"

"H-how did you know my name?" The young man said, surprised.

"Well, I heard your friend call you by that name a while ago at the cliff side."

"Is that so..." said Tintin, but was cut off when the Captain pulled him closer and hissed in a gruff tone, "Hey, are you sure that you're willing to just give out our names like that?"

"Captain, why would you be so concerned about that? It's not like anyone in this era would still remember us. Besides, if we're too caught up in protecting our present identities, they might get suspicious and things will get harder for us."

"Um, excuse me?" asked Tsumugi.

"Yes?" replied Tintin, as he and the Captain faced her.

"Since we'll be seeing each other in the next few days, it would be just fair if we introduce ourselves to one another, right, guys?" asked Tsumugi, as the other girls voiced their agreement.

"Okay, I'll start. I'm Tsumugi Kotobuki."

"Yui Hirasawa! Nyan!"

"Do you really have to do that, sempai?" Azusa muttered, and then faced the men. "I'm Azusa Nakano."

"I'm...I'm...M...Mio...Akiyama," Mio stammered shyly, "n-nice to meet you!"

"Ritsu Tainaka. Yo!"

"Okay, it's my turn now. I'm Tintin."

"And your last name...?" Ritsu asked.

"That's my only name, actually."

"What a weird name!" Yui remarked, "Tintin, Tantan, Tan-tan-tanuki!"

"Sempai!" Azusa scolded her. Turning again to the others, she said, "Sorry about that."

"It's okay," Tintin assured her, "don't worry." Nudging his companion, he whispered, "C'mon."

Sighing, the old sea salt fell silent before finally saying, "Haddock. Archibald Haddock."

A sharp bark broke through the air and startled them. Looking down, they saw his pouting visage of Snowy the dog, who wasn't pleased with the fact that he was ignored throughout the humans' exchange.

"Oh, sorry boy," Picking Snowy up, Tintin faced the girls and said, "And this is Snowy."

"Aw, how cute!" said Yui, as she went near the dog to pat him.

"Wait sempai!" Said Azusa, "You can't just pet him like that..." she broke off when she saw that Snowy was enjoying Yui's pats and affectionate babbling. "I can't believe it!"

"No surprise there," said Tintin, as he cast a fond look at his pet. "Snowy's a sharp lad. He knows that you mean no harm."

"He sure is a good judge of character," Ritsu commented, as she bemusedly watched her friend pet the little white terrier. Yui was too caught up in fawning over the dog's cuteness that it took all of her friends to drag her away and remind her that they should get the key to their assigned cabin. As they walked towards the check-in counter with a protesting Yui in tow, Tintin gazed at them with a part-bemused, part-wistful look before the Captain reminded him that they have to get the keys to their cabin as well.

Once they were all at the counter, they gave their names, and the receptionist promptly checked their reservations in the computer. Soon enough, the receptionist punched a magnetic card in the validation machine and handed it to them.

"Uh...whose card would that be?" asked Tsumugi.

"What do you mean, miss?" asked the receptionist. "Isn't this supposed to be a group?"

"A group?" asked Tsumugi, unsure that she heard it right.

"Miss, there must be some mistake," said Tintin, "we're not..."

"But your names are registered under Cabin 17," said the receptionist, as she turned the monitor around to face them. "Here, see for yourselves."

All seven of them stared long and hard at the monitor before freaking out and yelling in unison, "No way!"

"There's definitely a mistake here!" Ritsu protested, as she leaned in the counter and startled the other staff members seated at it. "There's no way that we're sharing a cabin with these guys!"

"Can't you do something about it?" asked Tsumugi, "Like put us in a different cabin or something?"

"I'm afraid I can't do that," said the receptionist, "All of our cabins are booked. And the next scheduled check-out is within a week."

"Where's the manager?" asked Azusa, "Can't we talk about this, at least?"

"I'm sorry, but our manager won't be here for another two days."

"Ritsu! Where are you going?" asked Mio, as she saw the aforementioned making her way out of the pavilion.

"I'll ask the people in the bigger cabins if they're willing to swap with us!"

"Ritsu, you idiot! That's completely uncalled for! Besides, the ones with the bigger cabins might be foreigners, and how would you know that they can speak and understand Japanese as well as these two guys?"

"Oh, right. I didn't think about that."

"You're as careless as always!" said Mio, as she gave Ritsu another hand chop.

As the girls chatted amongst themselves, the two men took their turn in talking with the receptionist about the matter at hand.

"Isn't there something you could do, miss?" asked Tintin, "We really need some privacy, and it would be hard to have that if we have to share our space with five more people."

"We're having some confidential business, and we won't be able to do that if we're marooned with these lasses," the Captain added.

"I'm sorry gentlemen; but there's nothing I could do about it," said the receptionist, "but if it's any consolation, the layout of your assigned cabin has its bedrooms in the farthest wings of either side, so you could still have as much privacy as you need. Here," as she said this, the receptionist typed a few commands into the computer and soon enough, the cabin's floor plans appeared on the monitor.

"What do you think?" asked the Captain.

"Well, we can take the room in the right wing, and they can take the larger room in the left," said Tintin, as he studied the floor plan. _And the distance between the rooms is just enough for the sound-proofers to be used to their fullest effect. But still... it's as if we've been given this cabin with us in mind, given that there are an exact number of beds for each of us. Now that I think about it, it seems too much of a coincidence that we've been put in with these people. Could they be... oh, stop it, Tintin! You're over-thinking things again. There's no way that they'd be a part of this. They don't look and act like they do, for starters!_

"Excuse me, sir?"

"Huh?" Startled from his deep thought, the young man stared at the receptionist and said, "I'm sorry. What was it again?"

"Do you want to join the weekly night buffet?" asked the receptionist.

At the sound of the word "buffet", Yui promptly ran towards the receptionist and yelled, "Oh yes! I want to! I want to!"

"I'm so sorry," said Azusa, as she ran towards Yui and the startled men, "She loses it when food is mentioned. Yui-sempai! For the last time, stop acting like that!"

"We're having the weekly buffet tonight," said the receptionist, "If you want, you can have dinner there first before retiring to your cabin."

"Wait, we haven't decided yet on whether or not we're gonna stay here!" said Azusa.

"Give it up, Azu-nyan," said Ritsu, "Obviously, we'll be stuck with them for the whole week."

"But..."

"I understand how you feel," said Tsumugi, "but we can't exactly go back to the bus station and look for another lodge. Besides, I don't think these men would be the type that could do anything unpleasant to us. What we should be worried about is if it's _us_ who would be invading _their_ private space."

"Oh no, don't worry about us," said Tintin, "Besides, it's camping season today. Something like this is bound to happen, right, Captain?" The old sea dog could only reply with a grunt of resignation.

"Captain?" asked Tsumugi, her curiosity piqued, "Are you from the navy or something? That's cool?"

"I'm a merchant ship captain," the Captain corrected her, "semi-retired, but still effective. What gave you the idea that I'm from the military, by the way?"

"Well, you have this dignified air around you," Tsumugi replied, "and the full beard seems to emphasize that."

"He does look the part of the battle-hardened seadog," said Ritsu, as she surveyed the Captain's face up close.

"B-blistering barnacles!" the Captain sputtered, overwhelmed by the sudden barrage of attention. "It's rude to stare at people, you know!"

Giggling inwardly, Tintin wore that half-amused, half-wistful look again. _Our stay here won't be boring that's for sure._ "Okay, since we have decided, let's go to the buffet together."

"Yes! Food! Food!" Yui cheered, as her friends tried in vain to get her to calm down, as they saw how she was getting too much attention from the people around them.

"Are you sure about this, Tintin?" the Captain whispered, "That Yui lass is louder than a raging walrus. She's attracting too much attention!"

"That's exactly the point," Tintin whispered back, "They can easily divert attention and act as a cover for us..."

"Excuse me, gentlemen?"

Startled, the two men quickly turned to where the voice came from. It was the receptionist, who was handing them their card key. "Your card key, sir..."

"Oh, thank you," said Tintin, as he got the card from her. But as he did so, he noticed that the receptionist was giving them a strange look. "Is there something wrong, miss?"

The receptionist fell silent for a few moments as she appeared to be scrutinizing both Tintin and the Captain. Finally, she spoke up, "Are you two related?"

"No," Tintin replied, as he mentally poised himself for a possible interrogation attack. _Could she be...?_

Another moment of silence passed before the receptionist said, "Whatever confidential business you're planning to carry out, I trust that you have the discretion to not let those young ladies catch you in the act, if you know what I mean."

"PARDON?" The two men asked, as their mid-20th century mindsets tried to make sense of what she just said.

"Oh, nothing. Forget what I said," said the receptionist, "We hope that you enjoy our buffet and your stay here."

"Wait! What are you talking about?" the Captain demanded. "Discretion? Catch us in the act? What's this you're giving us?"

"Just let her be, Captain," said Tintin, as he tugged at his friend's arm, "Remember that those girls can't get into their cabin without us, so we have to catch up with them."

The Captain let out a reluctant grunt before he finally joined his friend in saying, "Please excuse us," and left the reception area to join their new cabin mates.

* * *

><p>Right after filling themselves up in the lodge's sumptuous buffet, the group walked on towards their assigned cabin, their conversation dominated by the food that they just ate, and the sheer heft of Yui's appetite. When the girls went on with their merry little conversation, Tintin and the Captain barely said anything other than a question or two about their conversation. As they stopped in front of their assigned cabin's door, Tintin handed the card key to Tsumugi and said, "Here. You better keep this."<p>

Surprised, Tsumugi said, "Are you sure? I mean, you won't be able to get into the cabin without this, right?"

"Well, it's not that we think you don't trust us, but this is the best way that I could think of to keep people from thinking that we're taking advantage of you. Besides, I don't think you ladies will stay outside the lodge after dark, while we might. We don't want you to be stuck outside while you wait for us."

"That's a good point," said Tsumugi, as she took the card key from Tintin, "Thank you. That's very considerate of you."

"Now that you mentioned it," said Azusa, "we told the receptionist that we're not a group. Why didn't she give us separate cards?"

"They can only assign one card per cabin, Azusa-chan," Tsumugi explained, as she punched the card into the security mechanism, "It's for security."

As soon as the door opened, the group went inside, as the automatic lighting system illuminated the main room and revealed its sight to them. The small, yet clean and comfortable-looking furniture and the spotless kitchen counter, equipped with the basic appliances that anyone who would be cooking their own meals would need; all of them seemed out of place with the basic-looking construction setup of the cabin's log walls, but they also emphasized the fact that this was a cabin in the wilderness, albeit a slightly more upgraded one.

"So this is what a commoner's lodge looks like!" Tsumugi swooned, as she marvelled at the place with adoring eyes.

"Uh..." Tintin stared dumbfounded at the other girls as he pointed at Tsumugi.

"Oh, Mugi-chan's always like that," Ritsu explained, "You see, she came from a filthy rich family. I mean FILTHY rich. She ended up having a thing for anything having to do with 'commoner things'. You should see the lodges that her family own. They're practically five-star resort-hotels!"

"Is that so," said Tintin, but noticed that something was amiss. Finally realizing that his canine companion was no longer at his feet, he called him out and looked around, slightly alarmed; but his worry was quickly replaced by amusement when he saw Snowy on the couch, lying on his back and enjoying Yui's belly rub.

"Hey, don't tell me that you're planning to betray your master, you little rascal?" the Captain said jokingly, as he leaned over Snowy with an equally amused look.

"Let him go, Yui-sempai!" Azusa said in a scolding manner, "that's not your dog!"

"But he's so cute!" Yui protested.

"SEMPAI!"

The people in the room laughed. They may be complete strangers practically forced to live under one roof for a week, but if they would have a common pint of interest, it would be this fluffy little terrier. The thought had somehow managed to bring some form of comfort and ease in the potentially awkward situation that they're in now. They stayed together and talked for a few more minutes, with the girls taking their turns in petting Snowy, before they finally decided to retire for the night.

The girls said their respective good-nights, and all of them save for Azusa hurriedly ran towards the bedroom in the left wing. Approaching the two men, Azusa said, "Uh, wait!"

"Yes?" said Tintin, as he and the Captain faced her.

"Well...uh..." unsure about whether or not they will accept her words or not, Azusa fidgeted and uttered filler words before finally giving up about thinking of the right words to say. With a slight blush, she blurted out, "I'm sorry! I'm sorry...that we made you go through all this trouble! And also...thank you...for saving my life."

"Don't mention it," said Tintin, "It's not your fault. It's simply a matter of crazy things happening one after the other. Don't worry... I'll make sure that you don't lose anything from this."

There was something in the young man's eyes that made Azusa stare at him with a thoughtful look. But she didn't have time to think about it when her friends started making loud noises in their room.

"By thunder!" the Captain exclaimed, "it sounds like a fraternity house party in there!"

"I'm so sorry! They're having a pillow fight right now. They're always doing this whenever they're out on a camping trip like this!" Azusa hurriedly bowed down and excused herself, and she ran towards the room where her friends were; and the two men could hear her as she loudly reprimanded them.

"Our sound proof-ers sure are useful in more ways than one," Tintin remarked with another amused expression.

* * *

><p>As the two men and the little white terrier settled in their room for the night, they activated the soundproofing function installed in their watches as a precautionary measure to keep the confidentiality of any of their discussions that were related to their mission.<p>

"I see that you're always as focused with the main objective as ever," the Captain remarked, speaking in his native Walloon French, as he noted how the young man was all too eager to turn on the soundproofing function.

"We don't have much time, Captain," said Tintin, "I can feel a great deal of Exceed energy around here. You should feel it too, being an Exceed yourself."

"Well, there IS something fishy about the air around here," said the Captain, "But you know that I don't know this whole Exceed business as much as you do."

"Well, you have a point, since I've been doing research on the subject as a journalist even before that fateful day. But just keep our only objective in mind: to find the source of the Exceed particles before _they_ do."

Once again, they fell silent from the gravity of what was just said. They both knew that their mission was not only of utmost importance, but there were also lives potentially at stake in this whole affair. And that included their all too innocent and unknowing cabin-mates.

"We can't involve anyone in this. Especially not those girls," the young man said with a tone of conviction in his voice.

"You know," said the Captain, "I can't help but notice how those girls made quite an impression on you."

"What do you mean?"

"Oh, don't give me that, laddie. I can see from the look in your eyes when you're talking to them. Tell me: you like them, don't you?"

"Of course not!" Tintin said, as an awkward expression ran across his face. "Now where were we? Oh, about the Exceed particles..."

"Tut-tut! Don't change the subject," said the Captain with a knowing smirk, "Admit it: you like them. Because I never saw your eyes sparkle like that in all these years that we've been together."

"You're...you're just imagining things," Tintin sputtered, as he flipped his blanket over himself. "Now let's go to sleep. We still have a long day ahead of us."

"You know, my boy...it's not bad to have friends your age. Especially female ones..."

"I don't have the luxury for that. Besides...history has proven time and again that women had always been bad news for men."

There was something in Tintin's voice that made the Captain wonder if there was something in his past experiences that made him say something like that. But out of respect, he deemed it best not to ask his young friend about it. "Tintin...except perhaps for the Catastrafiore, women aren't always bad news, you know."

Later on, as the two men had finally settled in for the night, Tintin had let Snowy crawl under his blanket and snuggle beside him. As he stared at the night sky outside the window, he said, "I don't need female friends. You, the Captain, the Professor...you're all I need. And that's all that matters. I don't need anyone else. Just you guys."

Snowy stared silently at his master, as he had always done as a silent witness to his master's inner workings throughout the years that they've been together. And he had known his master so much that he knew that the latter was lying to himself. _You're hopeless,_ thought Snowy, as he snuggled closer to his master.

And so they all fell asleep, carrying with them the anxiety over what tomorrow may bring.


End file.
